פרשת בהעלותך
Many people think that there 5 books in the Five Books of Moses, when in fact the Gemorah teaches us that according to some there are 7. The Talmud states that the verse in this week’s Parsha, “ויהי בנסוע הארון…” is a separate book in the Torah in the middle of the book of Bamidbar indicated by the two backwards Nunim on either side of this small chapter. Obviously, this requires some explanation to understand the unique significance of these two verses why they were set aside from the rest of the Torah and what they are meant to teach us. The Gemorah in Shabbos (116a), which is cited by Rashi, offers two opinions as to why this verse is surrounded by the two backward letters. The first opinion is as we mentioned, to indicate that it is a separate book in the Torah, and the second opinion is to place a break in between the two disgraces of the Jewish people in order to not make them look so bad. Immediately prior to this Parsha, the episode of Har Sinai is recounted by the Torah. Although Har Sinai was a largely positive experience between Hashem and the Jewish people, toward the end of the revelation, the Jews felt so constricted by the massive amount of new responsibilities that were now placed on their shoulders, that the minute Hashem finished talking, they ran away from there like children at the sound of the school bell. The Gemorah teaches us that this reaction was extremely inappropriate in Hashem’s eyes. The second event mentioned after the dividing Parsha was how the Jews complained about their trip in the wilderness, which needless to say, was not a positive activity in any way. So in order to create a partition between these two unfortunate occurrences, the Torah placed this Parsha in between them. Whichever way one learns, I would like to explain why specifically were these verses used? They seem somewhat random. Furthermore, if the goal was to separate, it may have been nicer to create a bit of a larger partition.
Let us examine the verses in this ‘island’ Parsha a little closer. “And it was when the Aron traveled, and Moshe said, ‘Stand still Hashem, and let Your enemies be scattered, and let your rivals flee from your face, because from Zion will Torah emerge, and the word of Hashem from Jerusalem.’” The Zohar in the third volume (pg. 151) expounds on this verse and says that Moshe was offering a heartfelt prayer in front of Hashem that He overlook the Jews’ shortcomings and their wayward behavior. “Stand still Hashem, and do not distance Yourself further from us,” show the world your strength through Your unending tolerance for those that have strayed. According to this moving passage in the Zohar, it is quite clear why Hashem chose specifically this verse to act as a barrier between the two follies of the Jews. When we read this verse, it is as if we are imploring Hashem to consider the fact that we are mere flesh and blood, and although we may founder many times, we only want to do His will with all of our hearts. And we are begging Him to consider this in His judgment of us, and to stay with us. Moshe was saying to Hashem, “I know the Jews sinned at Har Sinai in their impetuousness to leave, and I know that they also sinned in their complaints against You in the desert, but please Hashem, stay with us and demonstrate Your ability to forgive those who have made mistakes.”
So powerful is this message, that Chazal at some point in our early development, chose to integrate these two verses as part of the prayer service. The four times a week which we read from the Torah are all prefaced with the entire (Ashkenazic) congregation saying, and sometimes even singing these verses, to remind ourselves of Hashem’s powerful mercy, and desire to never abandon us. The Navi in Yeshaya (55), (which is also the Haftarah for every fast day) writes, “Seek out Hashem and you will find Him, call out to Him for He is close to you.” In the verse a bit later, God says, “Because your thoughts are not my thoughts.” Rashi explains that Hashem deals with things differently than human beings do. In human courts, if a person admits to his guilt, he is charged accordingly, whereas if a person confesses to Hashem, he is immediately forgiven. Human beings constantly look for ways to rebel against Hashem, but He in return looks for ways to exonerate them and find a merciful way to deal with them. R’ Hanoch Leibowitz asks on this beautiful Rashi, what does the Navi gain by contrasting Hashem’s lofty behavior with our ordinary one? Would it not be enough to simply extol Hashem’s virtue of sympathy? R’ Hanoch explains that by contrast, we can appreciate Hashem’s compassion even more. Human courts do not have the time, or the ability to wait for a criminal to repent. They must mete out punishment on a real-time basis. Hashem, on the other hand, pines for us to return to Him, and waits patiently for that time, and even tries to nudge us in the right direction, and when we finally come around, accepts us instantly. R’ Hannoch concludes by saying that this great praise which Yeshayahu was giving to Hashem should be an overpowering inspiration to all us when we realize how much Hashem loves us, and how hard He is scheming to make sure that we succeed on every level, and how He waits for us to return to Him even if we have spent years running away from Him.
I would just like to conclude with a true story that happened recently to some acquaintances of mine. This story begins in Ramat Gan around twenty years ago. There were two friends named Ronni and Yossi who grew up together in North Ramat Gan with a traditional Jewish upbringing, and from nursery school, they were virtually inseparable. They did everything together. They laughed together, cried together, and were closer then brothers. When they came of age, they decided upon a career in computers. Naturally, like everything else, they studied together and showed extreme acumen in their field. When they started one of the first high tech companies in Tel Aviv, it didn’t take long before they were on the Forbes five hundred list. They worked together all hours of the day and they loved what they did. When their parents would gently but persistently chide them about getting married, Ronni and Yossi would respond that they were already married to their work, and they therefore were not permitted to take on another wife. One day, Ronni and Yossi get a call from a South African who identified himself as Paul. Paul told them that he had seen their work from South Africa and he would like to hire them, and buy out their company. When they asked him about the salary, it was a good thing they were sitting down. Paul offered them an annual salary which was well in the eight figures and benefits that one could only dream of. Needless to say, they were on the next plane to Johannesburg, where they were greeted cordially by a chauffer driving a stretched limousine who summarily drove them to their ‘estate’ where they were to be staying which was roughly the size of a small city. They met with their employer, who was overjoyed at their acceptance of his proposal, and they were briefed on his expectations. In passing, he mentioned that there was a black gentleman named Malawi living in the basement, and that since he worked long hours for a different company, chances are they probably wouldn’t run into him. Well, Ronni and Yossi worked there for a number of years, accumulating a small fortune, but not really spending anything on themselves. All they wanted to do was work. One morning, when they were enjoying a quiet breakfast of their usual coffee and cookies on one of their terraces before the morning rush, they heard a sound of something rustling in the hedges. When they saw a black face emerge from one of the trees in the garden, they were sure it was a thief who had come to rob their estate. Upon further investigation, they realized that it was none other than Malawi, the man who had been living in the basement all these years and they were reminded of the words of their employer some years ago. They asked him how it could be that he had been there for so long and they never saw him. He explained that since he left so early in the morning, and came back so late, their time schedules never overlapped. If that is the case, they asked him, what was he doing home today? This time, it was Malawi’s turn to be surprised. His jaw dropped and he said, “You mean you don’t know what today is?” Ronni and Yossi looked at each other in bewilderment and responded in the negative. Malawi said, “I work for a Jewish company and today is Yom Kippur so none of my employers came to work. I thought every Jew knew about Yom Kippur.” And with that, Malawi walked off with a puzzled look on his face. Ronni and Yossi sat there for a long time just looking down at the ground. When they finally looked up, they both knew what had to be done without speaking. Suffice it to say that Yossi is learning in Kollel in Jerusalem full time today, and Ronni is not far behind him.
May we all merit to appreciate the wonderful compassion of our Creator!